TH: A thousand - one to screw it in‚ and 999 to say‚ "Yeah‚ I can do that." It's that philosophy I could care less that you can do it. If you can think of it‚ that's the thing that makes great people: innovation. You can sit there and play Stevie Ray licks‚ but you will never be him and never achieve that greatness. He lived it and that grew out of him from all his experiences in life. Just because you can play it doesn't make you great. That's the way I look at it. But then again‚ I'm a bumbling idiot around other guitar players. We'll play a show with another band with a great guitarist‚ and when they're playing‚ I'm just sitting there like 'I'm an idiot.' Like the guy from Psychedelic Breakfast‚ Tim (Palmieri)‚ the dude's a fucking animal. It makes me nauseous how fucking good he is at guitar. I think we opened for those guys in New Haven‚ and we were playing and they were watching and they were digging us. It was cool‚ they were nice enough to come and check out our set. Then they get up on stage and Tim starts playing and I'm just like man‚ this dude could wipe his ass with me.
(laughter)
MM: He's a whole new animal‚ you know‚ he's just one of those young monsters who does his thing. That's what he does. He's a sick‚ ripping guitar player.
TH: Well‚ I look at that and I wouldn't prefer to be known as a ripping guitar player‚ obviously it's not a bad thing. I'd rather be known as a guy who writes good songs‚ or as a good musician. I started playing drums when I was six. I play piano and I play the bass‚ and I write on all different instruments. Tim is a great fucking guitar player‚ better than 90 percent of the guitarist I know‚ and that's his thing. That will never be my thing. I'm just not that good. But what I am good at I feel is writing songs‚ and hopefully that's the instrument I'm known for someday. I don't know‚ then again‚ like I'll never be as good as the Beatles or the Stones...
MM: Well yeah that's a whole different psychology class right there.
(laughter)
TH: Will I be getting a bill in the mail? Well‚ to never ever... be considered a peer to one of those people‚ you know‚ it will never happen and how do you live with that? I'm striving to be like the guy that made heroin (laughs) that's as high as I'll ever get. I try though...
MM: Hey you're having a lot of fun right?
TH: Yeah‚ it's the coolest thing ever. I get to drive around everywhere‚ work with the funniest people I know‚ I meet tons of great people‚ and I get to play music. I play music and people sometimes enjoy it.
MM: I think the crowd seeing you guys is really digging it‚ you know‚ they come out to dance their asses off and get lost in it‚ and see where you guys can take them. I mean that's what I've been hearing‚ and I know my first experience seeing you guys I entered the club and two minutes later I was like boom - zonefest.
TH: So what was your honest opinion of the show?
MM: I thought it was good... I had a great time. I parked myself in the corner and got into a lot of things you guys were doing‚ and I definitely did some zoning out (laughs).
TH: Zoning out good‚ or zoning out bad?
MM: No‚ no‚ zoning out good where I was completely in tune with what you were doing‚ following it‚ and seeing where the music could take me. So‚ yeah it was definitely good. I think that's where the spiritual side of live music comes into play‚ if you can hang up your hang ups and be comfortable at the setting of a show where you can listen and really see where the music can take you grab on to a note and ride the wave.
TH: You know what sucks? That aspect of music has been ruined for me basically for doing what I do‚ striving to be a professional musician. When I go to see bands that improvise I'm not ready to sit there and ride that wave‚ here and there I do‚ but most of the time I'm looking like what kind of gear are they using‚ how are they getting that sound‚ hmm oh‚ that's how they get that sound.
MM: Right (laughs)
TH: I'm always overanalyzing everything that's going on.
MM: It's funny‚ from my perspective now‚ not only trying to play music and to be incredibly interested in what a band I'm digging has going on‚ but also trying to write about it as well and do it justice. It's a tough thing (laughs). But it's not just about music anymore... I'm very interested in playing‚ and also I want to write about it‚ and then I get caught up in all this other crap that doesn't have anything to do with the music (laughs). I kind want to eliminate all the crap‚ like who cares‚ I just want to sit here and listen. That's what I'm here for‚ you know (laughs).
TH: That's the one of coolest thingd about the jamband‚ blah‚ blah‚ certain bands that have a following‚ you're community man. As much as you're into the music it's also about the atmosphere. It's definitely cool to experience that moment of music with your friends there next to you. The thing that I really like about what we do is that we have people that come see us play and seeing fans that became friends through seeing us. People who wouldn't have ever become friends if it wasn't for our band‚ is a really rewarding thing. Friendships are being made because of our music and that's a really cool thing. The community that forms is so humbling‚ and it's just amazing‚ you know this guy lives in Delaware and this other guy lives in Connecticut and they are friends now and they talk all the time. They meet up at our shows and hang out‚ and that's really cool.